A NotSo Ordinary Night at the Queens
by The-Passionate-Sun
Summary: Just a short one-shot about that night Seven Years Later during the Finale. Why Ollie wasn't there, and more. In the 'Not As Tough As Mom' universe. Not necessary to read that first.


**__****Title:** A Not So Ordinary Night At The Queens  
><strong>Rating:<strong> PG  
><strong>PairingCharacter: **Chlollie, Katie, Connor, Tessa Queen  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Just a short one-shot about that night Seven Years Later during the Finale. Why Ollie wasn't there, and more. In the 'Not As Tough As Mom' universe. Not necessary to read that first.

It's not a surprise that four-year-old Connor Queen is, by nature, very restless. And stubborn. (Oliver thinks he gets that from Chloe. She, of course, thinks differently.)

He squirms and he fidgets and he begs for 'one more story, Mommy!'. Until the last possible moment, when his eyelids slide closed on their own, he fights sleep. Which means that usually, by the time they've got Connor completely asleep and are able to tiptoe quietly out of his room, it's half an hour (at least) past Katie's bedtime.

And Chloe stubbornly refuses to let this become the norm.

So they've come up with a system.

Put Tessa down first, then one of them reads to Connor while the other gets Katie ready, and (three stories later) when Connor's down, they're both there to kiss Katie goodnight and have one last monster-under-the-bed check by the time her eyes close.

It works pretty well, Oliver thinks. At least, until they make him that comic book about Clark and all Connor wants to do is read it over and over and over again. As much as he loves his only son, he firmly refuses to take Connor-duty on comic-book nights, which they've limited down to two a week.

Besides, Katie has chicken pox, and Oliver can't handle not being there to rub calamine lotion on her arms or distract her with funny voices when she decides to scratch as hard as she possibly can through the mittens. She's a daddy's girl through and through and she's got him wrapped around her little finger, and he honestly wouldn't have it any other way.

He stays with Katie until she's ready to fall asleep, and then quietly slips out and closes the door, leaving a small crack open so she can call if she needs them. Down the hall, Connor's light is on and he can't resist the urge to stand outside and listen to the last lines of the story.

"And that was the day the boy turned into Superman," he hears Chloe say.

"Wow. Read again, please."

"Oh," she says. "There will always be more adventures for another day."

She opens the door a few seconds later and slips through, her phone ringing in her hands. She doesn't see him, but immediately answers, jumping into a conversation with whom he's assuming is Lois without saying 'hello.' "So, did you get it? I figured you might need something blue."

He knows she's smirking even though she's standing behind him, and before she knows it, he's stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her from behind. She hangs up with Lois and turns around, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You scared me."

He smirks back at her, raising an eyebrow. "I should hope not, Sidekick, you didn't even flinch. Do you go around letting random men touch you like I do?"

Her eyes widen, and she hits him, admonishing, "Ollie!"

Oliver shrugs. "I'm allowed to be concerned." When she rolls her eyes, he leans down to kiss her and she meets him halfway.

"You know," she says. "You shouldn't have gotten him that play set."

He's surprised that it's only slightly condescending.

"Come on, Sidekick. I had no choice, you saw how obsessed he's been with Supes lately! I can't have Clark be my son's number one fan, too. That is just not happening."

"You're such a child," she laughs.

"That may or may not be true, but come on," he gestures towards his son's closed bedroom door. "He loves it."

"Ollie, you're his father. Superman or no, he'll always love you more than Clark."

"That he loves Clark at all is the problem," he grumbles quietly.

Chloe opens her mouth to respond, but Katie, bless her soul, calls out to them. "Daddy! Mommy!"

"Come on," Chloe pulls away. "We should go kiss her goodnight."

"I don't like this," he huffs, straightening. "How did she even get chicken pox, anyways?"

"She's a kid, it's what kids do."

"Not our kids."

"Ollie."

"We got them vaccinated, Chlo!"

"And sometimes it doesn't work, Ollie, there's no hundred percent guarantee."

"Why are we paying for our kids to get vaccinated if we're going to have to watch them lie sick in bed all day, wanting so badly for their throat to stop hurting or their skin to stop itching, and not be able to do anything about it."

I'm sorry. I hate it, too. But right now we can't do anything so just stop, let it go, and kiss your daughter goodnight." Chloe pushes the door open slowly, and goes straight to the bed. She sits down and runs her hand over her daughter's forehead, "Hi, baby. How are you feeling?"

"Not good," Katie grumbles. "Itchy."

Oliver stifles a laugh at his daughter's squinty eyes and frowning mouth. His heart goes out to her, it really does, but it's a little funny to see his daughter, the one who calls Connor a drama queen when he's sick, groaning and grumbling and milking her situation for all it's worth.

His wife doesn't see it that way. Chloe shoots him a Look that clearly states 'what is wrong with you? Our child is sick!' and he takes it as his cue to wipe the smile off his face.

"Hey Katie, when you get better, we'll go to the zoo, okay?"

"Which zoo?" she asks suspiciously. "San Diego or Philadelphia?"

"Philly. We'll take the jet. You can even sit in the cockpit," he offers.

She is, after all, a Queen. She's been born into wealth, and no matter her parents successful efforts to keep her grounded, she will always have opportunities that others won't have. They've long since decided that they're not going to let their kids shy away from the public spotlight. They have the power to do something good, and rather than staying away and being ignorant, they should use it for the right reasons.

"Okay," she sighs happily, snuggling into her Scooby-Doo pillow. "Thank you. I love you, Daddy. Love you, Mommy."

"Love you, too, sweetheart."

He crosses the room and bends down next to the bed and kisses her forehead, Chloe following suit. They can't do anything about the itching, but by the time they reach the doorway and turn to get one last look, it doesn't even matter: Katie's knocked out, her blonde hair spread out around her, glittering in the moonlight.

-

Tessa comes padding into their room half an hour later, her thumb in her mouth and her blankie trailing behind her.

Ollie doesn't even notice her at first, since he's on the side of the bed closer to the bathroom, away from the door; besides, he's engrossed in his laptop, doing work for QI that he's been putting off all day in favor of playing cops and robbers with his kids. Chloe notices, though. She puts her book aside and looks questioningly at the door; their baby girl smiles sunnily up at her mother, no sign of sleep anywhere on her face. "Not sleepy," she says, coming closer.

Ollie looks up at the sound of her voice, automatically smiling. "Hey princess."

His pregnant wife, on the other hand, is not so happy to see their two-year-old out of bed at 10:30 at night. "Tessa, sweetie, why aren't you sleepy?"

Tess shrugs cutely, her hands making exaggerated 'I don't know' motions in the air. "Connor _s__nores_," she offers, eyes wide.

Chloe sighs. "Connor snores? You two don't even share- Never mind. Come here, Tess." She reaches her arms out wide, an invitation for their youngest to get into bed with them. "Will you go to sleep if you're with Mommy and Daddy?"

The girl nods excitedly, clearly happy with this development. "Can I sleep in the middle?"

Oliver looks at his wife, one eyebrow raised, waiting for her answer. When she realizes he's not going to say anything, she sighs again and turns back to her daughter. "Sure, sweetie, whatever you want."

Tessa burrows under the blankets, snuggling into her mother's side, hand on her unborn sibling. Within five minutes, she's asleep.

And that is how they sleep that night.

Just found out there's a 'Connor Queen' tag in this comm. Makes my day. (:


End file.
